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Friday ☀️

Happy Friday.
It was a lovely spring day around the city.
Everyone seemed to be out on the streets.
I colorized the photo that I took while I was stuck at the University Bridge while it was opened to ship canal traffic.
Look for the little float plane up in the air.

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Thursday/ a text from a strange number 😠

DSCC stands for Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
They should write it out to make the message appear less cryptic, no?
I wonder where they got my phone number.
And why is the link for a Yes or a No reply the same?
That looks suspicious.
Maybe they are phishing for me to confirm my phone number, even if I text back STOP?
No. I’m not responding.

I think the Biden-Harris Administration should do much more to stop Israel from killing and starving Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
But whoever the Democratic candidate for President in the 2024 General Election will be (Joe Biden most likely, of course) already has my vote.

But here came a text Tuesday and again today, wanting me to say if I ‘approve’ of Joe Biden.

The problem is that I assume that texts from strange phone numbers out of the blue are spam. Even after checking online and on Twitter, I’m not 100% sure this one is not.

 

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Tuesday/ the bridge is out 🌉

Here are pictures and reporting from the New York Times that document the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse:
The ship, a 948-foot-long cargo vessel called Dali, was about a half hour into its journey toward Colombo, Sri Lanka, when it hit a main pillar of the bridge. All crew members are safe, according to the ship’s owners.
(The mayday alert from the ship allowed authorities to stop traffic from crossing the bridge just before the impact.  Eight workers on the bridge fell into the water. Two were rescued from the water and six are still missing).
The Francis Scott Key Bridge was opened in 1977 and carried more than 12.4 million vehicles last year. The bridge was one of the three major ways to cross the Patapsco River and formed part of Baltimore’s beltway.

 

 

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Monday/ crypto stamps? 🔗

I scrolled through a bunch of crypto stamps listed on my regular online stamp marketplaces last night.
Should I buy some? Just one, for fun?
They go for $15 to $50— or more, each.
They may be worth a lot more 5 to 10 years from now.
Hmm. No, I decided. Not yet, anyway. (I don’t own any cryptocurrency, either).

Crypto stamps are valid for postage, but they are really aimed at collectors— collectors of digital works of art, or of the collector’s interests (digital comics, video clips, tweets, emails).
The buyer gets a physical stamp, as well as a digital version of it, that has a non-fungible token (NFT) associated with it. (NFT: a unique cryptographic token that exists on a blockchain, and that cannot be replicated.)

United States Postal Service sold some Day of the Dead ‘Forever’ stamps in 2021 with NFTs associated with them.
From Austria Post’s website:
Crypto stamp 5.1 Lion The Crypto stamp is the world’s first stamp with a digital twin (NFT) in the blockchain. Launched in 2019 with Crypto stamp 1.0, it continues to evolve with each subsequent edition. With over 1 million crypto stamps today, it is one of the world’s most successful and consistent crypto and NFT projects. The King of the Crypto stamp series, the majestic Lion, proudly continues the celebrated legacy of animal motifs. The Crypto stamp 5.1 Lion, a unique and imaginative creation, stands out with its digital twins showcased in five captivating colors..
A crypto stamp offering from Liechtenstein, the German-speaking, 15 mile-long principality between Austria and Switzerland.
Crypto stamp from Croatia.
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Saturday/ midnight in Miami 🌴

It’s midnight in Miami, and there is still action on the tennis court at the 2024 Miami Open.

As I write this, Gaël Monfils (37, 🇫🇷 ) had just taken the second set, playing against Jordan Thompson (29, 🇦🇺) in the second round of the 2024 Miami Open. So they have to play a deciding set.
P.S. There are no bleary-eyed line judges. All line calls are by an electronic line-calling (ELC) system. These systems use a combination of cameras, computers, algorithms, and microphones to track and calculate the trajectory of the ball, and determine if it landed in or out of bounds.
The winner of this match will take on Carlos Alcaraz (20, 🇪🇸) in round three.
Update 3/24: Monfils won 7-6 6-1 6-2 and will play against Alcaraz on Monday.
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Friday/ early humans 💀

Another batch of stamps from South Africa that I had ordered online, landed on my porch.
Here is one of my favorite sets, presented on a miniature sheet.
I feel ‘Planet of the Apes’* vibes, looking at it.

*Originally a 1963 novel by French author Pierre Boulle.

Origins of Humans
Issued 2006, Nov. 10
Serpentine Die-cut    Perf. 11½x11¾    No Wmk   Self-adhesive
C77 AP20 R3.80 Sheet of 4
a. Paranthropus robustus
b. Australopithecus africanus
c. Homo heidelbergensis
d. Homo ergaster [Source: Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue 2021, Vol. 6A]
Homo heidelbergensis is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human which existed during the Middle Pleistocene. It was classified as a subspecies of H. erectus in 1950 as H. e. heidelbergensis.
H. heidelbergensis is placed as the most recent common ancestor between modern humans (H. sapiens or H. s. sapiens) and Neanderthals (H. neanderthalensis or H. s. neanderthalensis).

Paranthropus robustus is a species of robust australopithecine (primate) from the Early and possibly Middle Pleistocene of the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa, about 2.27 to 0.87 million years ago.

Homo ergaster is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Africa in the Early Pleistocene.
Whether H. ergaster constitutes a species of its own or should be subsumed into H. erectus is an ongoing and unresolved dispute within paleoanthropology.

Australopithecus africanus is an extinct species of australopithecine (primate) which lived between about 3.3 and 2.1 million years ago in the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of South Africa. The species has been recovered from Taung, Sterkfontein, Makapansgat, and Gladysvale.

[Information from Wikipedia]

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Wednesday/ a cleaner downtown 🏙️

I was in Seattle downtown yesterday, and took a few pictures.
There is still a surprising number of empty storefronts along 4th and 5th Avenue, but at least the streets are clean (of trash), which is great.

There’s a giant heron on the wall in this parking lot off 6th Avenue.
McGraw Square, the downtown stop and terminal station for the South Lake Union Streetcar.
The big Bartell drug store on the corner of the Medical Dental Building on the left has closed down, and there is nothing in its place.
There goes the monorail train, on its way to the Space Needle.
Boarded-up storefronts all along 5th Avenue. The GAP clothing store on the corner behind me is long gone (now occupied by a Ben Bridges watch and jewelry store), as is the Banana Republic clothing store on the far corner ahead of me.
Built in 1973, the 19-story Hilton Motif Seattle holds more than 250,000 square feet, including 36,000 square feet of event space. Originally a Red Lion hotel, the property’s branding and ownership has changed multiple times over the last decade.
[Source: bizjournals.com]
Close by, are the 1977 Rainier Tower (far) and the 2020 Rainier Square Tower. Presumably the Ranier Square Tower has been mostly filled up with residents, but the PCC grocery store in its basement closed down in January, less than two year after opening.
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Monday/ pinks and blues 🌞

Here is a view of the pastel colors out east, and the setting sun reflecting off the buildings in downtown Bellevue.
I am on 17th Avenue on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

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Saturday/ sunset 🌇

We had more sun today, with the highs of the day bumping up to 71 °F (22 °C).
There was a party going at the entrance of the flagship REI store this morning, (camping gear and outdoors equipment), celebrating the imminent start of spring.

Here’s 18th Avenue E on Capitol Hill.
It’s 6.43 pm, and there is still some 30 minutes of sun left in the day.
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Friday/ sun ☀

It felt like spring today, with the sun out all day long.
Here in the city of Seattle we touched 60 °F (15 °C) at the high.

I got a set of USA stamps from one of my amigos (thanks, Steve!).
Here is one of my favorites.
Lindbergh Flight Issue
50th Anniversary of Charles A. Lindbergh’s solo transatlantic flight from New York to Paris, May 20, 1927
Issued May 20, 1977  Photolitho. Perf. 11
1710 A1099    13c   Multicolored   Spirit of St. Louis over Atlantic Ocean
[Source: Scott 2003 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 1]
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Wednesday/ twilight ✨

There was sun today, but it does not feel like spring yet here in the city.
It was only 47 °F (8 °C) as I went for a quick walk after dinner.

Sunset is now at 7.13 pm.
I am standing on my usual spot at 14th Avenue East and East Thomas Street.
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Tuesday/ tennis in the desert 🎾

All right, it’s time for a quick update on the happenings at the Indian Wells 2024 men’s tennis tournament.

Raphael Nadal (37, 🇪🇸) had actually withdrawn from the tournament before it even started, simply stating that he was not physically ready to play again at the highest level. Will he play French Open in May? We don’t know.

World No 1 Novak ‘No Vac’ Djokovic (36, 🇷🇸) was back for the first time in four years, only to fall to ‘lucky loser’ Luca Nardi (20, 🇮🇹) in the third round.
(A lucky loser is a player given a spot in the main draw even though he lost in the final round of the qualifying tournament).

Daniil Medvedev (28, His Country Invaded Ukraine— but not his fault) and Holger Rune (20, 🇩🇰) are the likeliest from the top half of the draw to make it to the final on Sunday.
In the bottom half it will be Indian Wells 2023 champ Alcaraz (20, 🇪🇸), Jannik Sinner (22, 🇮🇹) and Alexander Zverev (26, 🇩🇪) battling it out for a spot in the final.

Update Sun 3/19: It was Alcaraz vs. Medvedev in the Men’s Final, with Alcaraz winning 6-3, 6-2.

Carlos Alcaraz (20, Spain) smacking back a forearm, in his pink and blue outfit that he seems to wear for every match lately.
After today’s win against Fábián Marozsán (24, Hungary), he wrote ‘TUDUM’ on the camera lens with his marker, and I looked up the word in vain on Google Translate. But no, it’s not a Spanish word. It’s an international onomatopoeia slang term, derived from the double chime as Netflix starts up. Apparently it means ‘Stay Tuned’.
[Picture posted by Carlos Alcaraz @carlosalcaraz on X].